Daemon's Creed
by IfEaRnOfIsH
Summary: Ezio's daemon suited him like no other. Together, they worked in the darkness to serve the light, and having found it, made it burn.
1. A Life Begun

**OKAY SO. On the side of writing Dottore, I'm now writing this: An Assassin's Creed/HDM crossover. After reading a ton of HDM crossovers, I couldn't wait to get writing one myself. This won't be as regularly updated as Dottore is - its more like a little project rather than the huge undertaking that Dottore is currently. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy! :D**

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Ezio could not remember a time where he had thought of Eleutheria of anything but the truest reflection of himself. Her wings an extension of his arms: her claws, his blades. Her cry his own shout, and her reflexes in the sky his own on the rooftops. Her thoughts were his and his soul was hers. In the darkness they had served the light, and together, they made it burn.

And now they sat, watching _Roma's _sky turn orange as the sun set on some long, hard years of toil and war. They turned their faces to the dimming glow, and reflected on their gains, their losses, and what would happen next. Cesare Borgia was dead, along with his adder daemon, Vafer. Ezio recalled of how the man had felt in his grip, scrambling, tearing and biting, calling out that no man could ever kill him. And then how he fell, screaming, into the inferno. From Eleutheria, he felt the way her claws had punctured Vafer's scales, how he had writhed in her grip until the very last second, and how he had fallen with his human, twisting and contorting in the air. They both felt nothing but regret that it had come to that, with much blood spilt on the way. Ezio instantly found himself remembering his Uncle Mario's death at the Villa – how he had staggered through the gates with his great she-bear daemon Proelia. How Eleutheria had screeched until Ezio thought her lungs would burst, and how they had torn across the rooftops in fruitless terror, only to see them murdered. How Ezio had then been shot himself, and how he and Eleutheria had both plummeted from the sky.

Murder, vengeance and greed. For the last ten years, these had been their constant companions. Ever since that moment where Ezio's father and brothers had hung from ropes and their daemons had been extinguished in streams of gold dust, it was all they had ever known. It was what kept them driving onwards, never ceasing until all who caused it were dead.

And now that they were gone, there seemed nothing left for them, only a lifetime yawning ahead of them and the question:_ why?_

Remembering the deaths of their family had caused grief that Ezio had once thought to be hardened to crack, and in an effort to distract himself he found Eleutheria on his shoulder and rubbed the soft down on her head. Affectionately, she nipped his finger and held it in her beak, and for a moment they wrestled with each other before she finally conceded defeat, shaking Ezio's finger free of her beak and flapping on his shoulder irritably.  
The sun continued to fall behind the horizon, just as it had always done, no matter what the strife in their life. They watched it for a while in silence, each other's company being all they needed.

Until:  
'We are done with this place.' Eleutheria stated. Ezio looked away from her to the endless rooftops of _Roma_, its numerous districts, its sprawling countryside, the dim figure of the _Colosseo_ and the impressive figure of the _Castello_. It didn't look so imposing anymore. _Roma _was finally a city at peace with itself.

'Indeed.' Ezio agreed. Eleutheria groomed her feathers a little, tucking her head under her wing as she did so. Ezio waited for her to speak: he could sense a plan formulating on the bridge of her thoughts, and he knew she was taking her time to arrange them into words. As he predicted, when she bought her head out from under her wing, she began to speak again.

'Now that the Borgia are gone, we must seek a new purpose for ourselves. We have lived for too long for the deaths of others, and it would be unwise to leave us to means without an end.' She ruffled herself, which left her looking a little puffy.

Ezio agreed with her silently. It had been too long without truly living for their own existence, and with the rest of their life laying itself ahead of them, it seemed to make sense to him for them to do one thing and one thing only.

'I am an Assassin. That is all I have ever known,' Ezio said. 'Thus it makes sense for me to explore myself: to understand more about my heritage, and why it is us who are burdened with the message of those gods in the vault at _Il Vaticano_.' He said. 'Do you agree?'

Eleutheria didn't hesitate to answer. 'You are me, as I am you. Wherever you go, I go. And I too, would like answers to those questions.'

Somewhere deep inside Ezio, love and gratitude welled up for his daemon. He let it flood their link, and she called out a little hoarsely, quietening at once to push herself against the side of Ezio's face. He leaned into her touch, and in an expression of love they had established since she had settled, she extended her wing into the air and let Ezio run his deft fingers along it, massaging his fingers into the muscle underneath, stretching it and broadcasting his love to her continually all the while over their link. She chirruped softly in his ear, sending her love in return for his. Oh, moments like this were ones that they had missed. Although they both knew they would have the other for as long as they lived, there had been no time over the past ten years to confirm that, such had their existence had been. They spent a while like that under the darkening sky, revelling in each other until reality suddenly returned to them at the sound of a wolf howling somewhere in the countryside. They knew it to be no animal's howl: that was Machiavelli's daemon, a wolf named Sapienza, calling to Eleutheria and requesting their presence somewhere in _Roma. _Eleutheria, who was cradled in Ezio's hands, stretched her wings at once – sensing the breath filling her lungs and her urge to fly, Ezio threw his daemon up into the air. She took to the wind at once and swooped around Ezio, who stood, crying and keening herself. They were on their way.

Ezio stood for a little while, still immersed in his daemon and the feelings that she was sharing with him. The wind under her wings, the stomach turning sensation of the air lifting her up: all of it theirs to know. He too, began to share his urges with her – his urge to run and jump and climb, and all at once they were moving. Ezio was running, jumping nimbly down from their roof to another below, Eleutheria gliding along beside him: an extension of each other, and a soul whole.

The sun set and night came down over _Roma._

But for Ezio and Eleutheria both, life had only just begun.

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**GOD I love the concept of daemons. Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review, and I hope to have this updated soon! :) **


	2. Ezio Auditore Da Firenze!

**ALRIGHT GUYS HOWZIT DOING. Sorry this hasn't been updated in AGES, but I thought I might take a bit of a break from Dottore and focus on this for a little while. For those of you following it, I know what's happening, juusssst hit a bit of a writer's block with it. I'll be back on track soon, not to worry! **

**SO YEAH. Got a few chapters of this done, I might upload some more tomorrow, depending on how work is. Hope you're all having a great New Year, and enjoy! :D**

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Giovanni Auditore was talking quietly with some of Italy's most influential bankers when the servant boy from his home in Florence came barging into the bank, his daemon changing from form to form at an alarming rate as he called at the top of his tiny child's voice for Giovanni. Outraged bankers rose from their desks as the boy shattered the quiet of work, their daemons voicing their humans' displeasure with shrieks and hisses. From the top of the hall, Tutela's head swivelled on Giovanni's shoulder, and hissed in surprise.

'It's the kitchen boy!' She said out loud, disrupting Giovanni's conversation. Giovanni whirled around at his daemon's words, and sure enough, the boy that was meant to be watched by the cook was tearing towards him, shouting at the top of his voice.

'Master Auditore! Sir!'

'Do you _know _this boy, Giovanni?' Asked one banker, smirking while his monkey daemon bristled with contempt. This was not a man who particularly favoured Giovanni, and to see him humiliated by a _servant_ had made his day.

'Unfortunately,' Giovanni managed through gritted teeth, and stormed from the group to confront the boy. Tutela flew from his shoulder to hiss at the boy's daemon and flash her claws: the younger daemon changed instantly into a mouse in fright and ran up her human's trouser leg, leaving the boy to face Giovanni alone.

'What are you doing here?!' Giovanni demanded of the boy, who looked simply terrified. His mouse daemon peered out briefly from under his shirt, but upon seeing Tutela's flaming look, buried her head again. Settling back on Giovanni's shoulder as an outraged puff of feathers, she clacked her beak as Giovanni spoke again. '_Well!?_'

The boy's eyes were wet with terror as he stuttered. 'For-forgive me, sir, but the b-baby…your wife, sir…'

For an instant, Giovanni had the sensation of knowing nothing at all. And then all at once, everything came crashing in around him and Tutela. She let out a hoarse cry, picturing Maria and her daemon Voveo in distress as similar images tore through Giovanni's head. At once, nothing else mattered, and he laid a hand on the boy's shaking shoulder.

'Forgive me,' he said in a low voice. 'You have done well. Run back now, and tell my wife I will be there as soon as I can.' The boy nodded, and, looking exceptionally relieved to be dismissed, took himself and his daemon out of the bank at a run. The bank itself remained silent as Giovanni straightened and put on his most business like look. However, Tutela betrayed their impatience to be gone – she had taken to the air and flapped awkwardly above his head, ready to leave.

'Gentleman, I express a thousand apologies. Something very urgent as come up in my household that I must attend to at once. Good day!' He made a bow and made to leave, but the banker with the monkey daemon wasn't done with him yet.

'_Urgent?_' He scoffed, and his daemon chittered in agreement on his shoulder. 'What could this urgent thing be, to distract the _great_ Giovanni Auditore so?'

Giovanni and Tutela had had just about enough of this man's attitude, and so he couldn't help himself when he said: 'Something far beyond the value of money, gold and politics. My family – my _love_ – is what calls me away today, and I can only express my deepest condolences to you that you will never have a chance to leave to attend urgent business such as mine. Good day.' And with that, he left the bank and its ring of startled bankers and took to the streets of Florence, Tutela sweeping out of the door ahead of him with a cry of impatience.

And then he was running.

With skill he usually hid day by day, with instincts that he strove to stifle while he worked, Giovanni Auditore tore through Florence like the Assassin he was. Tutela too had forgotten to hide what they were and was streaking ahead of him, her heart full of Maria and Voveo, and the both of them thought the same thing:

_We would not have been sent for unless there was something wrong._

Tutela cried out again, and Giovanni ran faster. People shouted after him and heads swivelled in his direction, but his heart was full of his wife and it was tearing itself to pieces. As he and Tutela rounded the corner and barrelled into the courtyard, he thanked God that the doors had been left open – Tutela's wings snapped open as she glided into the house, Giovanni close behind her, and she flapped frantically in mid air waiting for him to catch up. Without a word, they both took off up the stairs and found the master bedroom within seconds. Giovanni threw open the door, and Tutela flew in with a screech. Through their link, Giovanni knew who she was looking for: Voveo, the owl daemon, who swooned on the head rest of Giovanni's and Maria's bed. His daemon was beside his wife's in an instant, her claws gouging the wood in her haste as she frantically began to groom the other daemon, trying to keep him conscious. Voveo was dwarfed by Tutela, but he leant into her gratefully, making soft noises of greeting. Giovanni remained by Maria's side, and looked frantically between her heaving figure and the nurses.

'Oh, my love! _Mi dispiace! _I was at the bank when they told me! Did I miss it?! Am I too late?' He grasped his wife's hand, but Maria merely pointed weakly at one of the nurses. She held the baby in her arms, and he was still. Her daemon, a goose, honked nervously and eyed the tiny daemon on the baby's chest: in the form of a newborn kitten, she wasn't moving either. No cries. No breath.

Voveo made a noise of distress as Maria moaned. But Tutela raised her wings and gave a harsh beat with them, with a harsh cry that said, _no – this will not do!  
_Giovanni's face hardened.

'Give him here.' He said, holding out his arms. The nurse came forward at once with the baby, and Giovanni took him from her with the well practiced arms of a father.

'Giovanni…?' Maria questioned breathlessly, and Voveo hooted miserably. Tutela nipped him affectionately, and with an awkward flap of her massive wings, hopped onto Giovanni's shouldr to examine the child better.

'Shh, my love. It will be alright…' Giovanni murmured, and Tutela made a soft noise of agreement with him. Giovanni looked down at his son, and spoke from the heart. '_Tu sei un Auditore. Sei un combattente.'_

_'Percio combatti!' _Tutlea finished, and then, with a gentle movement, reached down and nudged the baby's unmoving daemon with her beak. At once it changed into a baby bird, blind and helpless, and raised its tiny head to chirp as the baby burbled and then began to cry, screaming and thrashing. Giovanni had never been more relieved, and at once Tutlea threw back her head with a glad cry.

Maria visibly sagged with relief on the bed, exhausted beyond measure. Voveo fluttered down weakly beside her, and she laid her hand on his head.

'What shall we call him, my love?' She asked Giovanni.

Giovanni took one look at his son and his daemon through Tutlea's eyes, and what he saw astounded him. Tutlea only had eyes for the tiny daemon, and thousands of things were running through her head. She seemed to be thinking of hundreds of different things at once, seeking he right words, and all at once she found it.

_Liberty_. _Eleutheria!_

With his son's daemon named, Giovanni raised his son into the air.

'Ezio! _Ezio Auditore Da Firenze!'_

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**YAAAY PEOPLE BEING BORN **

**Just for reference, Giovanni's daemon is a golden eagle, and Maria's is a Laughing Owl. Its extinct now, but this is fanfiction so FUCK REALISM. This may also be longer lasting than I thought it would - past Ezio, maybe a bit of Desmond, Altair, Connor and DEFINITELY Haytham. Because Haytham. It may become a collection of sorts. I'll start with Ezio, and then jump back to Altair's life in the games, and then head onwards to Connor. Daemons are just a never ending concept and I JUST LOVE IT ARGH **

**Anyway, you may have noticed a thing I do with HDM fics is keep things STRICTLY canon in a HDM context - so basically a retelling of the games with daemons in there. There'll be lots that aren't cut scenes in words, but I love following cut scenes word by word and filling in the gaps. I know daemons give a lot of creative freedom, but, eh. THAT'S HOW I DO THANGS. **

**And on the subject of daemons, what would yours be if you had one? I've been thinking about it a LOT recently, and I think mine would be a hare. How 'bout chuuu? Tell me if you review! **

**ANYWAY, take care of yourselves, and I'll see you on the next update! **


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